“Through my father’s side I’ve got a German passport, but I did make sure it wasn’t going to affect my England qualifications (through residence).”

The German side is captained by Indian-born Rishi Pillai, who works in the country as an engineer, while wicket-keeper Daniel Weston is a former Australia under-19 player who is now an investment specialist there.

That justifies Meschede’s hope he will be able to communicate with his new team mates, many of whom are from Asian backgrounds.

“I understand a little bit (of German) but I don’t speak anything- it’ll be interesting to see if any of the Germany side speak German, but I’m relishing the opportunity and it should be fun!

“For my grandfather’s 80th birthday we visited the town of Meschede, which is near Dusseldorf, but I haven’t really been around Germany much.”

Germany also tried to recruit Middlesex spinner Ollie Rayner and Leicestershire seamer Dieter Klein for the tournament, but they are required for Championship matches at the time.